Overview
Tarun Saxena is an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University. Prior to this, Tarun was a Research Engineer at the Georgia Institute of Technology where he focused on elucidating failure mechanisms of brain-machine interfaces. Tarun completed his Ph.D. and Master’s degrees at Syracuse University and his undergraduate studies in Biomedical Engineering at Osmania University, India. Tarun is passionate about understanding the workings of the nervous and immune systems, and his research interests lie in the area of neurological trauma, ranging from developing a basic understanding of regenerative failure to design and implementation of therapeutic strategies with a focus to treat spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries. More recently, he has focused on bioengineering strategies to contain and halt metastatic brain tumors. He has collaborated actively with researchers in several other disciplines. Tarun has served as a peer reviewer for various journals, conferences, and grant review panels and has had his work and commentary published in journals such as ACS Nano, Biomaterials and, Nature Materials. Tarun enjoys being active, playing and watching cricket and tennis, hiking, reading books, and enjoying good food and drinks.
Current Appointments & Affiliations
Clinical Trials Project Leader II
Duke Clinical & Translational Science Institute,
Institutes and Centers
Recent Publications
Neuromechanobiology: An Expanding Field Driven by the Force of Greater Focus.
Journal Article Advanced healthcare materials · October 2021 The brain processes information by transmitting signals through highly connected and dynamic networks of neurons. Neurons use specific cellular structures, including axons, dendrites and synapses, and specific molecules, including cell adhesion molecules, ... Full text CiteEngineering Controlled Peritumoral Inflammation to Constrain Brain Tumor Growth.
Journal Article Advanced healthcare materials · February 2019 Brain tumors remain a great clinical challenge, in part due to their capacity to invade into eloquent, inoperable regions of the brain. In contrast, inflammation in the central nervous system (CNS) due to injuries activates microglia and astrocytes culmina ... Full text CiteToward Functional Restoration of the Central Nervous System: A Review of Translational Neuroscience Principles.
Journal Article Neurosurgery · January 1, 2019 Injury to the central nervous system (CNS) can leave patients with devastating neurological deficits that may permanently impair independence and diminish quality of life. Recent insights into how the CNS responds to injury and reacts to critically timed i ... Full text Link to item CiteRecent Grants
Precise Photoacoustic Imaging Guidance in Peripherally Inserted Central Catheters
ResearchProgram Manager · Awarded by North Carolina Biotechnology Center · 2024 - 2026Cas13d-based nanotherapy targeting undruggable transcription factor HoxB13 to inhibit prostate cancer metastasis
ResearchProject Manager · Awarded by North Carolina Biotechnology Center · 2023 - 2025Debiasing Clinical Care Algorithms
ResearchProject Leader · Awarded by American Heart Association · 2024 - 2025View All Grants
Education, Training & Certifications
Syracuse University ·
2010
Ph.D.